Kenan Thompson and Lorne Michaels Developing a Sitcom for NBC

Longtime SNL-er Kenan Thompson looks to finally be working on an exit strategy. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Thompson is writing, starring in, and producing a new untitled sitcom to be produced by his boss, Lorne Michaels. The show would star Thompson as Kenan Monroe, a man who leaves New York to move in with his in-laws in the suburbs. Thompson is currently in the midst of his 10th season at SNL. He joined in 2003 and is currently tied with Tim Meadows for having the fifth-longest tenure on the show ever. NBC only has a script commitment for the Thompson series right now, but if the network opts to produce a pilot and then pick up the pilot to series, Thompson would likely leave SNL in May to work on the new show. If the show goes to series, it’ll mark the fifth TV series Lorne Michaels is currently producing for an SNL cast member after 30 Rock (Tina Fey, Tracy Morgan), Late Night (Jimmy Fallon), Portlandia (Fred Armisen), and Up All Night (Maya Rudolph). It just goes to show that once you sign up for SNL, it’s pretty hard to ever escape Lorne Michaels’s almighty comedy grasp.